Excerpt from cancer
webster's 1913 dictionary
can' n. [l. cancer, cancri, crab, ulcer, a sign of the zodiac; akin to gr., skr. karkaa crab, and prob. skr. karkara hard, the
crab being named from its hard shell. cf. canner, chancre.]
1. zool) a genus of decapod crustacea, including some of the most common shore crabs of europe and north america, as the
rock crab, jonah crab, etc. see crab.
a cancer crab is sometimes referred to as a
soft crab.
hard crab
james crab
jonah crab.